The Hidden Gems in K-pop: Dancers, Rappers and Visuals

Visuals, rappers, and dancers. When this title is given out in the K-pop realm, the idea that this member will be — for a lack of better terms — “talentless,” will loom over that member’s head for a considerable amount of time. After all, every group has a lead vocalist, a star to wow the crowd with his/her vocal range, high notes, and gusto, and a standout to ‘cover’ for the weaker members. They’ll be seen doing covers on radio shows — as long as the group stays a steady course — and they’ll get subsequent opportunities (solo or subgroups) to show off their talents without sharing the mic. They bring attention back to the main group, and they bear heavier responsibilities when it comes to singing.

But is that really the case for all those idols that fall into those categories? What about ‘the others?’ There are many gems hidden in groups that, while carrying the burden of “visual” or “dancer,” manage to carry vocal talent beyond what is expected of them. While their current responsibilities are not without their importance, within the current K-pop world, those are often given as ‘throw-away’ positions. So, I’ve taken the time to lay out a few commendable vocalists that are hiding out in some of your favorite groups.

f(x) – Amber

Amber is known for her pretty solid rap skills gender-bending appearance, but only recently has her vocal talent been put on display. She has a steady tone and a rich sound that I would love to hear more of. This is not to say that she is on par with the current lead vocalist of the group, Luna, but with training, she very well could be. She was one of the first rappers that made me do a double take and ask “why isn’t she singing?” In f(x)’s most recent album, we got to hear quite a bit of Miss Amber’s vocal talents beyond her rap skills, and it was quite a treat for fans!

VIXX – Hongbin

A visual and a rapper! A double whammy when it comes to K-pop and its talent department. This combination usually leaves that member as the pretty face with just a few lines, to let us know why they’re in the group. But as far as I’ve seen and heard, Hongbin has performed with a deep, steady voice when he’s been given the right range. While he may lack a certain control with his vocals, it can be said that he’s horrible at either position.

Secret – Hana

Now, she’s not high up on the list, but with the groups’ recent foray into ballads and much softer songs, she’s managed to hold her own.What makes her jarring is the juxtaposition between her singing voice and the higher range of her members. Her rapping is often a higher tone that fits right in, but the change in pitch often makes her stand out when she’s put in a vocal position. Her voice is deeper in comparison, and it lacks control. But for an idol group rapper, she’s got a pretty solid set of pipes. While rapping is her focus, and also what she truly excels at, her voice can’t be ignored either.

Big Bang – T.O.P

Big Bang is known for being a talented group, and as they’ve all spread out in the recent years, they’ve each been able to hold their own. T.O.P shows his chops as a solid rapper who never deviates from his role — whether or not ballads are part of the picture — but it’s often a surprise to know that he can hold a note and deliver rather pleasing vocals, especially when he’s given the chance to go it alone (albeit only for variety show purposes).

Crayon Pop – All of ‘em

Crayon Pop is a special case, as the idea that ‘they can’t sing’ has be lobbied at the entire group. With their hit “Bar Bar Bar,” and even their recent “Uh Eee,” their vocal skills have been hidden under their goofy costumes and the ‘just have fun’ feeling in their songs. However, when one attempts to look past their gimmicky get-ups, it’s not difficult to see that the girls can actually sing. Some of the members may appear to be more prominent in this department, but as a group, they aren’t without talent. Their current schticks don’t lend themselves to power ballads, but there’s no doubt that the girls could handle a live radio show if the need arose.

Block B – U-Kwon

While this member is better known as Block B’s resident dancer, he also stands well with the vocalists of his group. Like many other male singers, U-Kwon’s voice figures in the deeper range, but his renditions often carry a soothing tone as well. When given the chance and training, there’s every possibility that he could make it as a sub-vocalist in his group or subgroup.

Some of the above vocalists aren’t the best, and they may not be good enough as soloists, or even artists who eventually relinquish their rapper statuses, however, it’s nice to shine a light every now and then, on sidelined group members who’ve been given bad raps (pun intended). While K-pop is swamped with pretty faces that lack substance, there are a few blinking beacons that give hope to the title of “visual,” and give meaning to the position of idol rapper.

Are there any other idols who should be recognized as “hidden gems?” Let us know in the comments below!

Despite SHINee being such an overall amazing group, I still hear people say Minho’s solely a visual with no real musical skills. But not only is he a solid idol rapper who’s credited on a lot of SHINee tracks as at least partly making most of his raps. Even if he could be deemed the worst dancer in his group, it’s still SHINee, putting him miles above the average idol. He also has a nice, deep singing voice that grounds SHINee’s harmonies, especially in their ballads, and really, well, shines when he gets lines that are actually in his vocal range (see: Dangerous from the Misconceptions album).

I would also call EXO’s Suho a relatively hidden gem (but is anyone EXO really hidden these days…). He’s obviously prominent in the leader role, but I think he’s underrated as a singer and dancer. He has an easily identifiable voice that perfectly compliments the group’s main and lead vocals, and if the infamous “Overdose” practice video is any indication, his dance skills can be surprisingly skilled and a little bada**. I usually add Xiumin to the “hidden gems” group for his singing and dancing, but I don’t think he’ll be very hidden for much longer.

maldita

Minho’s rapping may have improved so much, but he’s still one of the sucky idol rappers out there, TBH.

I would never argue that he’s one of the BEST idol rappers or my all-time favorite (he’s not even my favorite rapper in SHINee, honestly). but he’s not one of the absolute worst either, and I think “Get Down” by itself proves that. But he’s gotten better with time, he gets the job done for his respective group by counterbalancing Key in voice tone and style, and he isn’t completely terrible like some say. And even if you disagree with the rap skills point, he still counts as a hidden gem for the other reasons listed.

Gaya_SB

Waiting for the world to discover Xiumin’s awesome like they did with Chen

More like waiting for SM to discover Xiumin’s awesome… And I don’t understand how it took time for people to realize Chen’s awesomeness. Is it because he was over in M for the first year? He stood out to me immediately.

seattlecoffee

xiumin’s good with dancing, i’ll give you that but i dunno about singing

Gaya_SB

Legend has it that he got into SM by placing second in one of their singing competitions. First place that year was Jino.

seattlecoffee

yeah, he got 2nd place. but we dont know what are the skill levels of the other contestants so maybe they were bad and he was actually decent with jino being pretty good.

i don’t want to seem like i hate xiumin or whatnot, i personally love his dancing, he was the first member i noticed in the wolf routine. he was just so captivating and charismatic during his part. so i looked up some of his singing clips since i heard he placed 2nd and was majorly disappointed. after the holy trinity (baekchensoo), i rank his singing 9th in exo. baekchensoo > suho > luhan > lay > chanyeol (good at harmonizing) > xiumin. BUT i heard somewhere that he is taking vocal lessons atm to have better control over his voice cause he has awful control (remember weekly idol? when they had him repeat a high note, he went even higher, he had no control at all) so i’m expecting him to slay us with his vocals soon but right now, not so much.

seattlecoffee

idk about xiumin’s singing. if you search for his recent singing clips on youtube, he sounds pretty awful. no control over his vocal at all and sometimes off key

Really? I’ve probably missed a lot of the most recent live performances since the Christmas Day ones and EXO-M covering “Mirotic,” but I can’t recall ever hearing him sound awful. I’ll guess I’ll have to look those up. But based on less recent performances/events (coming second in Everysing, his JYP audition, covering “We Are the Future,” etc.) I think he’s better than his own company seems to give him credit for.

seattlecoffee

honestly xiumin sounds good when he’s singing and dancing at the same time but when he has to sit down and sing just a little snippet of a song, he sounds awful. i heard he’s taking vocal lessons atm to have better control over his voice so i think we’ll be seeing an improvement soon.
did you hear the released medley for exo’s album? chanyeol had a singing line for exo k and xiumin had one for exo-m… so i’m guessing we’ll be able to see him shine soon.
(tbh, i don’t really like his vocal tone)

rupdiddy

I think one person who belonged on this list is Minho from SHINee. Although I still find his rapping skills a bit weak, and I think Key fulfills that role better. His voice really balances out the Jjong, Key and Taemin’s higher pitches. Especially, if you listen to Sleepless Nights and some other songs his voice is like the baritone of SHINee’s harmonies which adds a really lovely effect. Even though he had 4 lines in Symptoms, I was surprised at how good he was sounding (also in Selene 6.23). The lad has come a long way.

I was also surprised at Sungyeol and Sungjong. They have improved HEAPS since their debut. They can hold notes well!

I remember Minho and Amber singing Rocketeer together, and Amber’s voice was actually just…AMAZING. Amber is a good singer and rapper. SM just doesn’t let her sing enough and she raps better in English than in Korean. I hope she gets more love <3

mnbv

no…..

rupdiddy

calm down bro, I only said his rapping is heaps better. It has still got miles to go.

Gaya_SB

I think with Minho’s rapping they managed to find the style of rapping which worked for him — the aggro stuff he was doing earlier was sooo not working for him.

I remember watching a fancam of him performing Rocketeer solo and it was actually quite nice. He just needs more practice and confidence in his falsetto.

Man, Amber needs to sing more, I love her tone. She’s like Dara, able to vocally balance out the other members.

Sylarah

I think Minho is kinda like 2pm’s Taecyeon and Chansung.

Their rapping on it’s own IS pretty terrible (even if they have improved over time), but they’ve managed to somehow make that terrible rapping WORK in their respective groups with some clever musical and stylistic choices.

Gaya_SB

*sobbing* but yes, they have managed to make it work

rupdiddy

I completely agree with you. I think he’s developed something that really works for him. He’s definitely evolved from his SHINee World and Lucifer days, into more mature rap/smooth talking (in the Misconceptions and Everybody albums). He’s come a long way :)

Amber is insanely talented. It’s kind of sad how only Krystal, Sulli and Vic get attention in f(x), when I find Amber and Luna are so much more talented. They’re even good at variety :'(

Gaya_SB

yes yes about the smoothness, it’s the style of rapping I’ve always seemed to like as well, so I’m quite happy that Minho fits into that mould, though the level of quality isn’t all there right now.

I’m not an expert by any means, but I always feel like that in the mainstream, rap is kind of defined by speed and idol rappers have to follow that even if it doesn’t suit them and there are other rap styles that actually might.

Just Sayin’

Minho was utterly amazing when the group covered SuJu’s Sorry Sorry!!!
My god it is one of my favourite covers!! Can watch and listen to it on repeat for hours!!!

karmakarmakarma

OH MAN. WHEN HE SUNG THOSE OPENING LINES, I WAS DROWNING IN FEELS.

bro

I agree with you. Minho has improved so much especially in his singing an rapping. While he can definitely still improve, he is miles ahead of where he was when SHINee debuted. Personally, I love Minho’s singing voice — his voice has a really nice tone and he can hold a note. I believe that if SM gave him some training like they did for Taemin, Minho could reach the status of “vocalist” as well.

musicnmelody

I think thunder of mblaq is a hidden gem. Tbh he used to be my least fav member cause i think his voice is not for singing and rap despite being the one of the rappers in mblaq. His dancing is not as good as seungho and joon either. But i respect him for his hardwork cause we can see his improvement. Hes getting better and better. He also compose songs and write lyrics and tbh most of my fav songs in their albums are written and composed by him. He is totally someone you have to look out for. I hope people wont see him as sandara park’s brother cause he totally deserves to be recognized because of his own talent.

ANANAS

I feel the same way about thunder!

maldita

Amber shouldn’t be rapping at all. SMH she should just be allowed to sing instead.

intheshort

I’ll nominate Junhyung from B2ST. I followed the group intensely after debut, so I watched a few videos where all the group members sang acapella. If I remember correctly, Junhyung had quite a nice tone. However, he was always a rapper from the start, and seems quite content with what he’s doing, so I won’t complain too much.

mistressnicey

I was hoping someone mentioned him and thank you so much for it! Other than his voice, I would like to say he’s also overlooked when it comes to Beast dancing. I personally think he’s the best dancer in Beast but I maybe biased.

I like how he has started to sing in some of Beast’ recent songs and his solo album definitely showcased his voice and I’m satisfied.

find_nothing_here

Wait Hongbin is a rapper? I thought he sang…

Tanya Joshi

Me, too… I thought his roles were sub-vocal and visual… Him being assigned rapper is totally new to me…

Stefnick

Yes, I was also really confused with Hongbin being referred to as the rapper. I don’t think I remember him ever rapping seriously on a vixx song, I mean they have an actual rapper, Ravi. Its not like VIXX is hurting for rapper. Hongbin usually sings a few verses in a song, usually the chorus, while Leo, Ken and N sings most of the song. Hongbin has a nice voice when its in his range, though. Impressed with his solo at the Milky Way Concert.

Another entry I was confused about was U-kwon from Block B, especially Nalina and after Ukwon sings the most behind Taeil.

taikun

Just asking…

Does Minho suck really bad at almost everything (except being the visual) that his name will always be mentioned in every discussion. Not that I mind… I just wonder.

Anyways, I agree with the one about Amber and Junhyung as both were just given rapper roles yet if placed in another position, they still excel.

happy_slip

ngl, i don’t get it either. as a casual listener i think he does justice to the parts given to him and contributes to the group as much as the others do. some of his raps are cringe-worthy but i’d attribute it more to bad rapping lines than actual horrible delivery (he had awkward years, but i think it’s safe to say that he’s gotten over that by now). he follows choreography and balances all that singing the others do. someone said that he writes occasionally. i’ve yet to see him look like he’d rather make a sandwich when they’re performing live (something that some idols do lately, even the ones I actually like).

so what else do people want him to do lol.

Gaya_SB

Minho is better than a lot of idols out there; the problem is that he’s in a group full of guys who are considered to be waaay more talented than him. But at the same time I’d say that his improvement can be partly attributed to being in Shinee.

maldita

Yeah. His ~lack~ of skills in certain areas is unfortunately magnified because everyone else in his group is ridiculously good at them. He can’t even completely own the title of the group’s rapper because Key tends to overshadow him at times. His dancing may have improved, but he’s still behind Taemin and Key. He’s out of his league singing wise, with most of the group’s songs tailored for Jonghyun, Onew, and Taemin.

If he was in another group, he could probably be a decent all-around member.

Gaya_SB

Yes, definitely. The guy can hold his own but he’s not going to the best in his group apart from anything sports-related.

But I don’t think he’d be as good as he is now if he were in another group, unless that group was even more talented than Shinee. He’d have improved somewhat with time and drive, but he’d need to have that high benchmark to aim for.

Toshio

I think the thing with some of these supposedly “talentless” members is that they are somehow “misplaced” (for the lack of proper term) in their group. Additionally, they are given the lines which do not fully utilize what they have, or which do not push them to the limit of their potentials. Being placed in a group of strong/good vocalists can work for or against their favor. They can either get minimum lines or be pushed/pressured to work harder.

OR they might be reaaaally talented but unfortunately, their companies pay little to no attention to them like Xiumin from Exo (have you seen his audition videos for JYP? Makes me wonder what happened.)

Gaya_SB

And JYP lets another one slip through its fingers. How do they keep doing that?

Toshio

I don’t even know! That’s why even if people think SM just choose whoever has the face, I’d like to believe SM just has the eye for superstars.

Tanya Joshi

Honestly, people just focus on the fact that SM has the good looking idols, but half the time completely ignore the fact that they make sure to pick ones that are extremely talented as well. I think SM prides itself on vocals and dancing, and they are pretty damn good in that department.
And I think what you said about those members who are misplaced in the vocals department, I think the same happens with dancers as well. Xiumin is a really good dancer, but you hardly ever see him on camera. Sehun is great at dancing yet they manage to mostly only focus on Kai. Most people who watched the leaked video (not me, though) said that in many parts Sehun outshone Kai, and I’ve been waiting for this day! I hope in the new video Sehun and Xiumin get more chances to get noticed, but more so for Xiumin.

Toshio

IMHO the Growl era had been great for Sehun. They didn’t focus too much on Kai yes, BUT I feel like the lines were unfairly distributed. This is why I’ve always been in favor of them promoting separately. The opportunity to grow is there since they are given the lines that they deserve. Just let them promote as OT12 when all of them have grown as artists.

Tanya Joshi

Yeah, apparently in the leaked video, Sehun’s part was longer, but because they showed the video as OT12, his part got cut a lot shorter… That’s why I’m looking forward to their stages, more chance to see them shine… It sucks that I won’t be able to watch EXO-M’s, though…
Growl actually had Sehun in the front more often, so that made me happy, haha.

Toshio

The thing with EXO M though is that I’ve never heard them sing live (Mama era) on Chinese shows. Maybe they did, I just haven’t seen it yet but I really haven’t heard them sing MAMA or HISTORY live. And yes, more chance for them to shine!

Tanya Joshi

Yeah, they usually are on talk shows and stuff like that. It sucks…
And it’s true, it’s best they promote separately for a while to help them all grow as performers, so that each one can shine even when they promote as OT12.

Toshio

Oh, and I’m pretty satisfied with Sehun’s rap but idk with his singing just yet. I’ve only heard his singing in Baby and it was perfectly fine but I can’t generalize since that’s just one song.

Tanya Joshi

Yeah, his rap is pretty okay, and I really liked it in Overdose. But it’ll take a while for his voice to even sound normal while singing. He’ll need songs where his voice needs to sound cute, because right now that’s what he suits best. But EXO can’t always sing cutesy songs, haha.

Tanya Joshi

This is off topic, but I remember once you said that you wish Chen wasn’t in EXO (in a good way, not in a way where you hate him; you said he was one of the main reasons you even paid attention to EXO), or something along those lines.
I just want to know… why exactly?

seattlecoffee

xiumin was ok when he auditioned for JYP but i feel his vocal ability deteriorated a lot if you check out his recent singing stuff

Toshio

It was more than okay in my opinion. Considering that we haven’t had the chance to hear him sing like that, it had been a pleasant surprise. I do agree though that his skills have deteriorated but I think it’s mainly because SM decided to train him more on his dancing and rapping since that’s his position in the group.

seattlecoffee

yeah, i don’t know how he went from that to ->

Toshio

It’s kind of frustrating actually. Also, I think that his confidence is in the way with his singing. He always say that he’s really nervous after singing and idek what really happened but he proved that he can sing in the past so I’m still hoping for him (and Kai) to pull off a Yunho.

ANANAS

hongbin sounded so good in Only U.
TOP doesn’t really belong here because he does excel in rapping but I guess his very minimal singing is a hidden gem.

Courie

-Waiting for a Himchan solo with him producing the instrumentals. (I’d love to see Rock/Traditional tracks sung by him..). Channie is definitely a hidden gem.

-Didn’t know Hongbin was a rapper and even though he has improved,I still find Minho’s rapping terrible.

-I’ve always thought Chen is the best singer in Exo,was so shocked to find out he was so underrated,good thing for SM the Ballad. Xiumin is definitely getting more and more attention from what I’ve seen. He’s acting skills were impressive..didn’t see that coming.

So truuuue!!! I wish he has more lines! His voice tone is good, and with enough practice i think he can even match taeil! :D

SakiVI

He does match Taeil. For Be The Light, people first thought he wasn’t singing at all, but instead Taeil’s lines followed his, and people thought it was all Taeil’s voice.

As for the lines that suit that would let him shine, Taeil gets those, which sucks. If Jaehyo could put out singles, at least, then he wouldn’t be underutilized. He needs more individual activities.

musicnmelody

True. I thought taeil sang both parts too. I hope next album he’ll have a solo song like kyung had in the previous album. They might have this rotation single where only one member has solo in one album lol. Btw ive always liked jaehyos part in synchronized 100% and romantically :D

SakiVI

I don’t think they’ll give him one, though. :-(
And I checked the Jackpot tracklist: it’s just Jackpot, Jackpot instrumental and Very Good, the rough version (whatever that means).

Stefnick

I agree with you, Ukwon seems like a strange choice, especially Nalina and after, Ukwon sings the most behind Taeil. There not much hidden about him. I feel like within Block B U-kwon is already pass the rank on sub-vocalist. Your Mileage May Vary but I always thought he had a nice fun voice.

Jaehyo is the one that I feel being screwed over, by Block B doing a more hip hop sound verse when they first started with Freeze. And Jaehyo doesn’t “match” that, so Zico seems to prefer U-kwon’s voice for some reason when giving out parts. Poor Jaehyo.

SakiVI

I agree, poor Jaehyo. I would be so happy to see him go do something more suited to him. Don’t tell BBCs, but there’s no rule he can’t.

Solo or Sub-group would be nice. He’s voice may be a bit more suited for ballads. Maybe now that Block B’s been free from large-scale controversy for awhile, they can be free to expand and try stuff outside the group.

SakiVI

Yes, but when they do stuff that involves few group members, Ukwon and PO are always chosen. For instance, the OST for Ghost: that was UKwon and PO and Taeil.

SakiVI

Come to think of it, if they want to make money, they should be doing subunits and having every single member in one.

yi2345

Tell me about it. My goodness, I’ve not seen such an underutilized visual before. Visual role aside, isn’t he supposed to be the lead vocalist of the group? Good look + Can sing. If he were in another group/company, they’ll be putting his face everywhere with those roles of him. I like Taeil too, but I think Jaehyo really needs to get more lines.

I just finished watching their new MV. Had to struggle hard to spot him. Is it just me or even the rappers are getting more singing lines than he is? Why is a lead vocalist getting the least lines in the entire group? :(((((

SakiVI

It really is unfair. I just hope he’s got a back up career & earns well now, bc he’s not getting the chances he should here.

Buzzer Bee

2ne1 Minzy? she could now able to hold the position of lead vocal, although most still see her as just dancer

Stefnick

After BAP’s Wild Eye performances, I really want to hear Jongup sing more. Now, I want even more a Jongup and Zelo sub-group.

SakiVI

Infinite’s Sungjong seems underutilized as a singer. Look how fabulous he is:

Ditto on Secret’s Hana as a hidden gem! The woman can dance, sing decently, and rap goood (listen to Amazinger). She wrote rap parts of their songs and she’s entertaining, too. I’m a girl but I think she’s one of those few female idols who’s genuinely hot. I mean, the pic of her above would attest to that! It makes me wonder why their company keeps on capitalizing on Hyosung’s bouncy assets when Zinger is front-and-back-fleshier (on a side note she looks a bit thinner nowadays; maybe because of the accident? idk..) Bottomline: Hana is underrated.
I consider Wonder Girls’ Yenny and Yubin as hidden gems, too. I know they’re from WG but now that they’re not active so yeah, they’re hidden gems, or more like dormant gems.

I couldn’t agree more! I’ve been itching to see Yubin release her full potential. The girl always raps a few lines or a few seconds. Like Amber, she can sing, too. If they won’t let her rap longer then she should sing more lines!
Fei and Yubin. Oh-la-la!

Chanyeol may be popular, but I’m pretty sure it’s due to his personality rather than his musical abilities (aside from dancing lmao)

His voice is surprisingly not that bad, (harmonizing Chanyeol ftw), but I think that baritone-tenor songs (I butcher musical terms srry) suit his voice more than lower pitched songs.

hhhhhh

I think CNU from B1A4 is a relatively hidden gem.
Same with Xiumin from EXO and Minzy from 2ne1.

xChoding

Infinite’s Dongwoo! I love his singing voice, and although he doesn’t have the amazing control Woohyun, Hoya and Sunggyu have, his voice is still amazing and he can even go pretty high, at least higher than I thought possible consider his rapping is done in a pretty deep voice